Syracuse, NY -- Back in those early, breezy days of the college basketball season, when teams were innocent of the kind of ability Syracuse's two starting guards possessed, athletic life was so much simpler for Tyler Ennis and Trevor Cooney.

During a four-game stretch that included games against Minnesota, California, Baylor and Indiana, Ennis averaged 17 points per game on 50 percent shooting. Cooney averaged 17.5 points and made 43 percent of his 3-point shots during that same span.

SU coach Jim Boeheim has consistently praised the quick and easy ascension of his young backcourt, a duo whose total college basketball experience coming into this season totaled 436 minutes, all of them logged by Cooney during his limited freshman year.

"Our guards played so far above what I would have ever hoped for, that I'm just totally impressed with what they've done this year," Boeheim said after his team lost to Duke in Durham.

But as games mount, as opponents study more film and learn more about the tendencies of both guards, their performance numbers have plunged.

In SU's last four games, Ennis is averaging 11 points on 32 percent shooting. He's made 22 percent (2-of-9) of the 3-point shots he's attempted.

Cooney is scoring 7 ppg and has made 26 percent (6-of-23) of his 3-point attempts. Against Duke, the Orange starting backcourt shot a combined 3-of-18 and was 0-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Boeheim, Cooney and Ennis praised the defensive play of Duke's guards on Saturday night. Duke shifted a series of bodies on both Orange guards and played physical man defense the whole game. Ennis, who had been so effective penetrating defenses and finishing in tight situations this season, has lately struggled to sink those same shots.
Defenses know his strength lies in his ability to create opportunities off the bounce. Any cushion he gets happens on the perimeter.

"Guards-wise offensively we didn't hit as many shots as we'd like, but I thought we took care of the ball for the most part," Ennis said in the post-Duke Syracuse locker room. "I was able to create space a couple times and it just didn't bounce in. But games happen like that. I'm going to continue to play my game, pretty much."

Cooney, SU's only perceived 3-point threat, has been hounded by ACC defenses all season. He expends so much energy each game fighting through screens, trying to free himself for shots. But SU has attempted a total of 388 3-point shots this season. Cooney accounts for nearly half of those attempts.

"Especially this game, I didn't have the normal looks I usually get," Cooney said after the Duke game, when he attempted three 3-pointers and missed all of them. "They were really covering me. They just never left me. Even when the ball was on the other side of the court, they were still covering me. I expected that. I got some OK looks off of rebounds when guys found me. Shots I normally make. I gotta knock them down and I will next game."

His coach was encouraged by a play late in the game, when Cooney drove to the basket, was fouled and sank the free throws. Boeheim wants Cooney to attack more, to use his 6-foot-4, 195-pound size to wedge into the lane and either score or earn free looks at the basket. Cooney shoots a team-beat 88 percent from the free throw line. But he's attempted the fewest shots there (51) of any Orange starter.

"Duke's guards were great defensively," Boeheim said. "I thought Trevor made a great move to the basket at the end. He's got to do that, he's gotta learn from that. You know, they're not letting him get shots. He's got to be able to put the ball on the floor. He can do that."

"I gotta do that more. I gotta be aggressive," Cooney conceded. "Because when I'm aggressive, it opens up other lanes for other people."